Some of these are long overdue from Christmas!

Just thought we should post something to keep the blog going. We are half way through the semester after this next week and we are very stressed. Treven has 3 exams this week before we go to Vancouver on Friday. One for chemistry and two for anatomy. I have 2 exams for anatomy. One of them being the bone test which we are studying like crazy for! We walk into the lab room and they have all the bones in the body (some broken into segments) around the room. We have to go in there and what it is pointing to on the bone, we name it. Then our other exam is on our lecture which is going to be easy. We are stressed and tired, but we know we can do it.
Melia is growing fast and is cooing and giggling. She is starting to grab for things. The only thing that is confusing is she won't pass a bowel movement for 7 days then she will have a huge blow out. It started happening when I tried to get her to eat formula. She did NOT like it so we stopped it. She drank like one bottle of the formula so now just breast milk Anyways! I don't know what to do. The doctor's office said it was something I was eating but I didn't change ANYTHING in my diet from when she was born and it all started because of the formula. I don't know what to do. If you have any suggestions please help.
We bought a second car that is in Vancouver. We got a 2000 Toyota Camry and it is silver. Mom and Dad went and looked at it for us and picked it up when we bought it. It will definitely help us having a 2nd car. It has been really hard with both Treven and I working and going to school cause they overlap some days. We are number 5 on the subsidized housing list so he said he can guarantee us moving in by April but there is a possibility for March. So we will see!
Anne and I are going to Rascal Flatts concert on March 8 for our birthdays from Mom and Dad in Boise. We are definitely excited for it and it will be tons of fun to go with her. Peter, Treven will be coming on Friday after his classes. He wants to come, but can't leave till Friday night.
Well have to go study! I will post some pictures once Melia wakes up. We got her a pink sock monkey from old navy. I couldn't resist buying it.
Love you all see some of you soon!
Kim

Hey Everyone,

So we had to do this eventually so it is ok that Dave switched to the new blogger. I was anticipating this transfer so I made a gmail account for the blog. Since David switched the blog though he is now the official administer of the blog so he changes all settings, etc.

But as for the rest of us - we can sign into the new blogger with our new blog gmail account - stinchfamily@gmail.com. The password is the same as our old blogger account. This will also be good for any sensitive information like addresses or phone numbers to be sent to a family email that we all can check. I will try to keep that email organized so that it is easy to find different email for different people (that will make more sense if you sign into the account at gmail.com).

So from now on sign in to new blogger and all should work smoothly. Let me know if you guys are confused about anything...thanks!


--
marnie

Hey Family,

Sorry but Buffy and I do not have an announcement. Soon though soon. Brooke I would be happy to take the second if you want. HEHE, congrats. So 4 weeks until the house is to be completed and they are working away at it. The cabinets went in this week and the house is coming together. I have much less hair though since going through the mortgage process. It Sucks!!!! Gap is doing well and I am going to have a fun year of travel coming up. In March I am going to Seattle for 3 days, then in June to Scottsdale, Arizona for 3 more days and San Francisco for 3 more. Then in September I go to Orlando for 4 more days. I'm a traveling man. Buffy is doing well at Proactive PT, they move into a new clinic on Monday so she is excited. And just an FYI for all you Moms out there. Gap Outlet is having the Kids and Baby sale starting the 20th. All Boys, Girls and Baby product will be 30% off. Sorry Brooke, Anne, and Kim, no Gaps where you are. Have Mom pick you up something at my store though (Shameless sales pitch). Anyhow I figured I would write on this since my name is now on the list of contributors, I should actually contribute. Love you all

Well I tried to do it the old way but it wouldn't let me so I am posting via the gmail account for stinchfamily. Anyways, all is well here in Boise. We went skiing/snowboarding yesterday and had a blast. Our friends Justin and Laura came with us and since Laura is preggo, she watched Andrew so both Peter and I could go up.

Andrew is doing well, he still has room to grow being that he is 25th percentile for weight and 70th for height. But I think he will have a late growth spurt....it may just be going on right now...the kid is killing me. We went to Red Robin tonite and he was so close to the table in his highchair and he wanted to chew on something so he just started biting down on the table...I will try to post pics( i took them on my phone). Anyways, we love the kid and couldn't imagine not having him here....we love being parents.

We love you all and are so excited for all the new little babies that will be arriving later this year.

-Anne

try to post something the old way.

Dave

For those SNL fans, you'll understand that. For all others, I think I screwed up the blogger account. I tried to sign in as stinchfamily and it asked me if I wanted to update the blog. Well, it didn't look like there was any other option, so I agreed. Well, I think it now says I have to sign in with my gmail account...and it thinks I am 'stinchfamily'. So, somebody needs to tell me how to rectify this. What I am thinking is to re-invite everyone to the blog so that everyone can post. It'll probably require you to sign in with your own new sign-in. Well, the benefit of that would be that all would now have the correct name after their post instead of the generic 'stinchfamily'. All who disagree, post something...he,he. I am going to try to invite everyone. So, I need all current email addresses. Send it to taysaac@gmail.com.

Well, I got on after a hiatus of what has got to be over 2 mos. I have been readin', but not bloggin'. Reasons? Bought the practice (majority of time), computer pooped out for 2 weeks, scouts, etc.. The list goes on. Enjoying the new experience of being a business owner, even with all its headaches. I think I was made for this? Almost enjoy it more than the dentistry, but I still love the dentistry, very exciting (you probably wouldn't understand if you weren't here with me).

I went to a course in Vancouver, B.C. for ortho, the second series of training I have had. Very good course, learning a lot. Will be going back for the next three months. Also going to Vegas in March for training on the business side of things. Should be a good segway into the crazy summer of 2 weddings on the Archuleta side and a likely disneyland trip and a week of scout camp. All fun!

We miss you all, even you Ma and Pa. I think today was the first time I have seen them since Christmas (well, not really, but that is what it feels like). Me and Dad went to the Children's Dental Health Day at the Clark College Hygiene school today for the morning to donate some treatment to the kids. It was a good time, despite the whaling and gnashing of teeth!

Well, I better get going, it is wonderful to be able to taste a piece of each of your lives through the blog! Congrats Mike and Brooke!

Dave

So let me tell you this funny little story- this fall- October- life seemed to be going pretty smoothly. I could keep the car cleaned out, the house was staying reasonably sanitary and straightened to boot and Mike and I sort of started talking about the fact that maybe we could handle one more. It might be good for Ellyn because it would keep us catering to young kids. It would be good for Sadie because she would have someone that would accept all of her love and attention. Jane would love it, Mike has always wanted another baby and I knew I couldn't help but love another child (you might note my enthusiasm was not as high as it could be). By November we decided we would at least not do anything to prevent another baby until Mike deployed. We would put it in the Lord's hands and then if we still didn't have a fourth child we could feel comfortable with making that final definite decision.

Since that time we have had all the major sleep issues, Ellyn's therapists not as hopeful as they were earlier, our callings requiring more and more of our time, and a few nights ago as I watched that autism documentary and sat bawling my eyes out Mike and I had a heart to heart and decided that we were done and that it was okay. We (I) had reached our max capacity. The next morning I started thinking about the date, studied my calendar, and decided that we may have come to our conclusion a bit too late. The Lord obviously had other plans for our family. That afternoon my suspicions were confirmed. My husband was estatic and I was in shock. Considering our track record I didn't really believe it was going to happen before he left and really I was just wanting that extra reassurance. But I have to say that I'm very happy. Scared to death, grumpy because I'm a bit stressed about the whole thing, and because I know in two weeks I will be wishing I were dead as I build a closer relationship with my toilet bowl. But as I said, I know the Lord wants this child in our home. Two months just doesn't happen for us. I knew that if I were to have a baby the ideal timing would be October and October 16th it is. So please keep this baby in your prayers (and T&T's too).

Keep Ellyn in your prayers as well. Her sleeping continues to be an issue, the sleep medication either does too little and she is still awake (1/2) or it's too much (whole) and she still has a restless night and is groggy all day. She needs sleep for her little brain and for her parents' sanity. We are giving it a few more days and then we are back to no meds, a happier kiddo, and still no sleep.

That's my story and Barb, if there's two you get one! Have a fabulous day. Love,me

Congrats Mike and Brooke and family! We are so excited for you guys!

Love, Anne Peter and Andrew

Well, I could write a novel about how cold it is, how much we have cabin fever and are going crazy, how wound up and cranky the kids are and how I can't wait for the spring but it wouldn't be very fun to read. So instead, I'll just share our great news.

First off: Big Congrats to Tom on passing the National Dental Boards!!! Woohoo!!! He got his scores yesterday and we are so thrilled!! He will take the final part at the end of March and be officially done! Yeah!!!!!! Great job Tom!!!!!!

Second: I have hit the twelve week mark with this pregnancy and everything looks great!!!! For those reading who hadn't heard, yes, I'm pregnant! We found out just before Christmas and we were surprised to be blessed so quickly but very happy and excited! I'm due August 18th so I'm 12 1/2 weeks and finally crawling out of the first trimester. I told the Stinchfield clan when we were there for Christmas but just haven't blogged about it because we have so many people reading this blogg!! However, I had my check up this week and the doctor did another ultrasound and things looked great! The baby is growing really well and everything is on track. I have been really sick, much sicker than with the first two kids, but we've managed and I even got some amazing meds from my doctor that helped me through the worst of it after I had the stomach flu. I still feel nausea every day and get headaches a lot but it's getting better and I am optimistic that it will all subside within the next few weeks! There were several days I was certain that this will be our last child but luckily I am sure I will forget about those terrible days! For now we are just excited and looking forward to all the really fun things we have coming our way with graduation, moving, new job, new baby, which means new car, etc. So much to think about!!! In terms of whether we want a boy or girl the family is split, the boys want a boy and the girls want a girl... so either way we'll win! Just six weeks until we'll find out!

That's all for now! I have to go take advantage of the last few minutes of nap time! Have a great weekend and enjoy some above freezing temps for us!

Tracey

Fam-

I have been away a while, then again, so have many of you on the male side. So here is what's been going on:

It has been very busy at work since getting back after Christmas. We go to a field exercise soon and a lot of effort has been made since then to prepare for it...on top of my usual HR/Personnel business. I really dislike my job, but I do think I will be happy in company commmand after a few months...mid-May I think.
High Council work has also been overwhelming, with many, many meetings and other events, we have spent a lot of time traveling. That job at least is more rewarding than work.
With all that, my time with boardgames has declined quite a bit. We have still played a few, but no new recommendations this time around.
Supreme Commander comes out this month, the Total Annhilation sequel I have been talking about for a year or so. Dave, hopefully you have a new system that will play the sucker. The demo is out around the internet, and you could probably see if it has legs for it. I hear the Wiis will be back in stock this week...at Target at least. Don't anyone shy away from buying one for our family, Henry and/or Cate will really enjoy the system in a few years. By the way Kim, the XBOX+ games are on the way. Sorry for the delay. Please refer back to the top of this blog for excuses.
I miss you all. I wish you were around to hang out with and play games and travel and..... We are very excited for Mom and Dad to come out in April...especially since that will correspond with warmer weather. love you guys.

Mike

Autism rate about 1 in 150, higher than previous estimates

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- About one in 150 American children has autism, an urgent public health concern, said U.S. health officials Thursday who reported on the largest study done so far on the troubling disorder.

The new numbers, based on 2002 data from 14 states, are higher than previously reported.

Advocates said the study provides a sad new understanding of how common autism is, and should fuel efforts to get the government to spend hundreds of millions of additional dollars for autism research and services.

"This data today shows we're going to need more early intervention services and more therapists, and we're going to need federal and state legislators to stand up for these families," said Alison Singer, spokeswoman for Autism Speaks, the nation's largest organization advocating more services for autistic children.

The study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculated an average autism rate 6.6 per 1,000. That compares with last year's estimated rate of 5.5 in 1,000.

The research involved an intense review of medical and school records for children in all or part of 14 states and gives the clearest picture yet of how common autism is in some parts of the country, CDC officials said.

However, those states are not demographically representative of the nation as a whole, so officials cautioned against using the results as a national average. The study doesn't include some of the most populous states including California, Texas and Florida.
No conclusions on a trend

Also, the study does not answer whether autism is increasing -- a controversial topic, driven in part by the contention by some parents and advocates that autism is linked to a vaccine preservative. The best scientific studies have not borne out that claim.

"We can't make conclusions about trends yet," because the study's database is too new, said Catherine Rice, a CDC behavioral scientist who was the study's lead author.

Autism is a complex disorder usually not diagnosed in children until after age 3. It is characterized by a range of behaviors, including difficulty in expressing needs and inability to socialize. The cause is not known.

Scientists have been revising how common they think the disorder is. Past estimates from smaller studies have ranged from 1 out of every 10,000 children to nearly 1 in 100.

Last year's estimate of 5.5 out of every 1,000 U.S. children was based on national surveys of tens of thousands of families with school-age kids. That fit into a prevalence range found in other recent studies.

The CDC also has been developing an alternate way of measuring autism prevalence, building a network of university and state health departments for ongoing surveillance of autism and developmental disabilities. The study released Thursday is one of the first scientific papers to come out of that effort.

"This is a more accurate rate because of the methods they used," said Dr. Eric Hollander, an autism expert at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

The study involved 2002 data from parts or all of 14 states -- Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Researchers looked specifically at children who were 8 years old that year. They said most children with autism are identified for medical or educational services by that age.

The researchers checked health records in each area and school records when they were made available, looking for children who met diagnostic criteria for autism. They used those numbers to calculate a prevalence rate for each study area.

The rates varied from 3.3 per 1,000 in the study site in Alabama, which was made up of the state's 32 northernmost counties, to 10.6 in the site in New Jersey, which involved four counties, including metropolitan Newark.

Researchers say they don't know why the rate was so high in New Jersey. They think the Alabama rate was low at least partly because researchers had limited access to special education records there.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source

Late report in on the trip to Elko...worth the trip at least once in your life. Our thanks to Dick and Martha for inviting us to go and enjoy a wonderful time. Great poetry, music, humor, food and friends. This will be on our docket annually. It was a VERY enjoyable trip. Thanks, Kenn/Dad

Just finished reading on CNN about how cold it is in Ohio, Michigan and up in that region. Brrr!! Not to brag but it is 75 degrees outside here and just beautiful. I just had to take off my jacket because it was too warm. I can't imagine ever being that cold. I think my body would just stop working. Can't wait for Tracey, Tom and fam so join me out here in the warm weather!

Things are good here in San Diego. I am super excited because Lost comes back to TV this Wednesday night at 10pm (note the time difference which I think is a great idea...there is no way it could survive if put up against American Idol...viewers are too fickle). I am so happy to have that staple put back to my Wednesday nights and no repeats for the rest of the season! Yay!

I am also full into planning the Oscar party (you should all have gotten invitations, although I know that none of you can come). I have to see who is coming, plan food, decor, get a dress/outfit together for myself (hello Nordstrom Rack!)...lots to do. It looks like it is going to be really great though. Lots of fun people are coming.

I also need to start studying. I am not sure if I have mentioned this on the blog but I am planning to go back to school to get my MBA. I first need to take the GMAT this summer because I need that score to apply. I want to go to the program at SDSU. They have a great part-time program so I can still remain working at GTI full time. It takes twice as long but I can maintain my life without going into more debt with loans which will be nice. Classes are at night, usually twice a week. My plan, if everything goes right, is to take the GMAT this summer and apply to start next Spring (January) at SDSU. Sorry if I already mentioned this on the blog!

So that is pretty much all that is going on here. Hope you are all doing well, keeping warm! So nice to hear from everyone. :)

Another section of stolen posts from the Beecher Blog...with permission!

Feb 1....Jane went skiing the last two days and absolutely loved it. She says it's her favorite sport and then keeps telling me all sorts of things like "the ski boots really make your shins sore because you're leaning into them. When you get off the lift..." I've tried to explain that once, oh so long ago I actually did ski on a weekly basis EVERY SINGLE SATURDAY!!! How sweet were those days? But I guess I have no choice but to let Jane think she discovered the sport for the family. I'm just so happy she liked it.

My poor husband, last night we both had stake meetings (the primary president was sick) and we didn't get home until right before midnight. Ellyn kept us up until about 1 and then he had to be up before 5 for an 8 mile run. He raced in the door when he got home, showered, changed clothes, gave everyone kisses, and was gone in less than 15 minutes. His job right now is incredibly stressful, oh yeah, and he hates it. He only has a few more months till he takes command. We just have to get him through.

Feb 5...Have I mentioned enough times lately how much I hate winter? Let me tell you again. I FEEL LIKE A SLUG. Today when we woke up the sun was shining. I told the girls that we would hurry and clean up and ride our scooters to the library. Guess what, within an hour it was gray and huge drops of snow/rain were plopping down from the sky.

At least I have been able to spend the entire day scrubbing and vacuuming and doing dishes and laundry. I know you are all jealous. You see our whole family has taken turns having a stomach virus this past weekend. It started with Ellyn on Wednesday. She threw up three times in the morning and then was totally normal without a fever. We thought it was a side effect from the new sleeping meds. our Dr. had started her on so after speaking to our pediatrician we took her off those for a week. Next, Sadie threw up early, early Saturday morning, again I didn't know for sure if it was from all the crap she ate with the babysitters the night before, sickness, or if she had suffered a mild concussion when she fell off the slide at the pool on Friday (trying to help Ellyn sit and yes I do feel like the worst mom on the planet because I was letting her do it) and landed on the back of her head on the tile floor. So when she was totally fine after she threw up twice I figured "No" to the sickness option. Then...we were going to our friends house for dinner and games and Jane said she was getting car sick because they lived down these twisty country roads (she's gotten car sick quite a bit since we moved here). At their house she laid on the couch after dinner and then became progressively more sick until we thought it best to leave. She threw up on the way home. As we were driving home Mike and I both mentioned that our stomachs were queasy. Yup, we were both awake all night but mine was gone by morning- without any unpleasant experiences and Mike was still toast. So he stayed home with Jane and Ellyn- who was now dealing with the other end issues and Sadie and I went to church. Really, until Jane I didn't think we had a bug and then it rapidly became apparent that we did. Sadie and Ellyn managed to soil huge amounts of clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, rugs, etc... because they were caught by surprise. You can only imagine my laundry room and the scent therein since all of those items have to be washed one at a time. I also feel terrible because we unknowingly exposed several people to a potentially lovely experience. I just try to remember that this is our first year here and we haven't built up our immunities to all the yuckies yet. It's making for way too much winter fun.

I know you are so glad I shared that story with you. I didn't mean for it to be that long drawn out but now I'm not going to erase it.

Okay, as far as the house. We are, as you've read, having major sleeping issues with Ellyn. Part of the reason is because we live next to a main road with people driving by at all hours with stereos and loud engines etc...also the walking path is within ten feet of the side of our house and we are on a corner and every bedroom is exposed to the noise. It isn't bad for the rest of us until summer but for Ellyn, once she wakes up (which she does very easily) she is up for hours. Also, because we have such an open floor plan when she is screaming she keeps the whole family awake so we can't work on self soothing without waking everyone up in the middle of the night. Finally, probably the most important reason of all, our front door is very close to the road and she has already learned how to open the front door. It is a fairly busy road all day long and who knows when she is going to understand the danger of cars. I'm not so worried about it now but when summer comes and the girls are in and out all day and when we are here for three years and Ellyn becomes more independant I think it would be an unsafe situation. So I have almost all of the paperwork done. I just have to meet with the head of the health clinic tomorrow morning. Ellyn's pediatrician has already spoken with him. The trick is finding a house that will work. Everyone moved here at the same time so not many people are leaving (there are a few soldiers that were here earlier). There are several house plans that have a living room in the basement which is what I want because I can take Ellyn down when she's screaming and keep her from waking up the family. So that is the story.

Brooke

March 9th is to be the estimated completion date. Happy Birthday to Me!!!

It's so cold here that they have cancelled school tomorrow because bare skin will literally freeze in a matter of minutes! We've been inside with the heat cranked all day but I just can't get warm... oh, how I dream of San Diego.... I need to go curl up with my heating pad and blanket... I keep thinking that I will never feel warm again!

Things here are mostly good... Danica came down with a bad cold and cough last night so I decided to keep her home from church. We were all up with her most of the night because she couldn't sleep. Tom had to go to ward council early so I arranged for the neighbor to come pick up Hayden and he threw the biggest tantrum in the world and I could not unlatch him from my legs to get him in the car. He insists that church is boring and he doesn't want to go. This has been going on since the first of the year. I think his teacher is okay, he's very soft spoken and maybe they don't play games but I think Hayden is just used to a super exciting electronic world and gets bored at church and doesn't like to sit quietly and such. Anyway, it's becoming a big problem and today he was so bad I literally couldn't get him buckled in their car and had to let him stay home. Every other week we just force him to come with us and sometimes he cries all the way to church but he gets over it. If I had been going I would have simply forced him to go but I knew Tom would be busy with Stake meetings during church and couldn't deal with him if he continued to fight it. I sat him down and tried to talk to him about why we go to church, to learn about Jesus and feel the spirit and stuff, but he just kept crying and crying and saying it's not fun. Obviously I don't want him to hate church, and most of the time once he gets to class he is fine and if he's acting up and I threaten to take him out he gets upset at the idea of having to leave. (I teach sunbeams now so I am nearby during sharing time). Anyway, have any of you dealt with this? What can I do to help change his attitude? We read the Friend every day at lunch and he loves the stories and he's learning the songs. He just has a bad attitude! How can I change it? Honstely it reminds me of Tom's attitude on life which is "why would I do it if it's not fun to me?" Oh.... help?

Well, I'm exhausted and not feeling well today so I think I"m off to bed...it will probably be just in time for Danica to wake up coughing.... I hope the rest of you are well! Hopefully we'll warm up soon!!!

I hope you have a great day on your birthday and this weekend on your trip! I love you very much! :)

--
marnie

Hope you have a good one in Elko. I will be having fun tomorrow watching the Super Bowl on your TV. Have fun on the flight. HEHE!!

Danica is trying to show off her new hairdo!



I can't believe we have been so delinquent in writing this blogg!! I came home from Disneyworld with the stomach flu and just haven't been able to get on my feet! However, I think I am just about there! Our trip was fantastic!! We had so much fun and everything worked out so well! The resort was awesome, the parks were great and the kids did really well. Hopefully you've checked out our pictures, just follow the link on the right.

It's freezing here and I dream about San Diego but I know Hayden will miss the snow. He always stomps through the deepest snow bank he can find and I can't ever get him into the car or the back door because he's so busy playing in the snow! They made snow scupltures at his school today and even painted them with water colors in spray bottles and he had a great time! He continues to love school and begs for playdates all day all the time. The other day he told me that I should have 20 kids so he always has someone to play with... I'm not so sure about that! :)

Danica is really walking now, she doesn't fall very often. She is also really giggling and tons of fun. It's great to see her personality starting to come out. However, she is horribly afraid of anyone besides Tom or I and won't even let someone else touch her for fear that I will be leaving... I don't know how I am going to solve this one but I'm going to try! She still only has her two bottom teeth but her hair is finally long enough that I put it back in two tiny little pig tails. They are kind of silly looking but kind of cute! She's pretty good to leave them in.

Tom and I are doing well. He took his last written boards a few weeks ago and they seemed to go okay, we're still waiting for the scores. His final boards are the end of March. Meanwhile he is just plugging away at school and anxious to get out of the clinic. We are still enjoying the games that Mike turned us onto over the holidays and are working to build up our supply. So far we spend our time playing Lost Cities and Battlelore, it's a lot of fun. I spent all day last Saturday at a scrapbook crop with Lexi, I got a ton done!

Well, I better hurry and make my lunch before Danica's up from her nap. We promise to help the blogg move along in the future! Thanks everyone!

Tracey

I enjoyed Brooke's posting so much on her family's blog that I asked her if I could copy it and share it on our blog...I like postings from Mike but I like to hear Brooke's take on things but I know she has so much on her plate that posting at all is a real accomplishment...editing and copying and pasting can just be more than she can get done! So I appreciate her giving her permission so that we can have it in our family record...and so those who don't look at all linked blogs can get the news!!!

(at this point she was talking about Ellyn possibly needing an aide for her in Primary)... I had my feelings hurt for her a little bit yesterday in nursery, even though it was a dumb reason. The regular nursery leader wasn't there (she was a special ed teacher and the two of us have discussed how to keep Ellyn involved) and when I walked in to get her all of the kids were doing ring around the rosies with the teacher and Ellyn was sitting on the floor with this smile on her face watching them. I know that the teacher didn't know that Elly LOVES ring around the rosies or that all she had to do was take her hand and she would join. Sadie was so cute she grabbed Ellyn's hand and mine and we did ring around the rosies next to them.I was in our ward in a stake capacity yesterday-yes by the way we were made a ward yesterday- I was in Primary the entire time and I just about died. Sadie is hillarious and a little bit loud as well. But she answers all the questions and sings with gusto. She added "cha, cha, cha" to the end of the birthday song and when Jane was the spotlight child she called out "It's my Janie" after only two of the clues. There were countless other little things she did that had me laughing and a bit concerned. She did pretty well but we need to work on not shouting out the answers. Our friend Dave makes fun of me because he says everytime I try to discipline Sadie I'm laughing. It's not entirely true, but sometimes yes.We had ten inches of snow last week in one night by the way and school was only delayed two hours. Jane and Sadie showed me just how tough they were last week, playing outside for hours in the snow. Sadie collided with a sled and cut her chin and her nose and they still didn't even come in till I went out to get them. We have a fabulous hill across the street and they really had alot of fun. Last night it rained and so now our winter wonderland is almost completely gone.

Saturday I went to a R.S. conf for our stake. Four of us from our ward sang "More Holiness Give Me" with the second verse being a german solo by a young woman-newly 18- in our ward. I had to sing soprano because no one else could consistently reach a high C- whatever, not my favorite. Any way, a member of the stake presidency was there and asked if we would sing it in ward conf. the next day. So as we are going up to the podium Gina-the yw-turns to me and says "Please sing the second verse with me, please, I can't do it here by myself." What am I supposed to say to that as we are about to sing, so luckily Mike and I have been able to figure out pronunciation of german words- for the most part and I sang with her. Nothing like a little last minute singing in German to get your heart going.

Okay, I have to go now. Sorry this has been so rambling, very poor writing, and fairly boring. I'm sick and achy today and very tired. Ellyn has a Dr. appt. today which I am not going to miss however. I am really hoping they have some ideas about what we can do with her sleep schedule. Last night was totally typical-still not asleep at 10:30, awake screaming at 3:00am, and back to sleep for an hour from 6:30-7:30. Sometimes she'll fall asleep at about nine and then she's up at 1:00 and awake until four......

I know she loves us!!!!

Barb

So the weekend is over and it was quite an adventure. We went to the audition on Friday afternoon all ready to take the test. We took it...totally different subjects than we had been studying. I can't give any details because we had to sign a confidentiality agreement but it was kinda tough. There were about 20 teams in our timeslot. They only accepted two teams of the twenty to be interviewed by the casting directors. And we were one of the two teams!! We went straight in for a 5 minute interview complete with pictures and videotaping. It was fun, we made them laugh and we felt confident. We were pretty excited for the rest of the day, went to lunch, dinner. Then we sat down and tried to remember all of the questions on the test and remembered all but one. We figured out that our combined score was only 53%...hahaha...kinda sad. So I don't think it was just the test that got us through to the interview...must've been our winning personalities. :)

They called us Saturday night as they said they would but sadly it was to tell us that they had gone with another team. We were pretty shocked because we felt so good about our interview but I think it must've come down to what they were looking for. It could have been our test scores that decided it, who knows. We were also a lot younger than most of the people that were there. And after looking at the people that were on the show last year - it looks like they have different types they need to satisfy and they must have just gone with a different team to be the "young ones". We wallowed in our rejection, ate tons of comfort food and ended up feeling much better about ourselves. :) It was really fun and I am really glad that we tried for it. There is another chance for us to possibly be on the show - there is an individual test online on Feb 14th to put together a random wild card team. We are all going to take it just to see how we do. Plus there is always next year and at least we already have the costumes! :)

On to the next adventure...



marnie

School is going great. Treven and I had our first 2 anatomy exams this week and the first one we both got 106% on it and the second test I got an 88% and Treven got a 95%. Which is great!!! We are definitely loving our classes. Work is going well too even though Treven is so tired everyday! I work only Monday and Friday from 4-10p which works out well for me. I just figured out what my minor is going to be. I am a Health Ed major and if you are a secondary ed major you have to have a minor. So my minor is Exercise & Sport Science Teaching also known as Physical Ed Teaching. I also just figured out that I am going to start "Fast grad" this fall, which is going year round. I called today to figure out the requirements. I have to have over 50 credits which I do, maintain a 2.8 GPA and I have to take at least 15 credits while I am in the Fast grad program. I already was planning on taking 14-16 credits a semester so I would finish in 4 semesters. If I do this Fast grad, I am going to be done with all my classes Summer of 2008 and then all I have to do is my student teaching which I can do Fall of 08 or Winter 09. So I would graduate December of 08 or April 09. So I really think I am going to this fast grad thing. It would be so nice to think to be done by the end of next year! I just have to apply so I am going to pick up the application on Monday.
Melia is doing great. She is growing everyday and has started (again) to sleep through the night. She stopped sleepin through the night for like two weeks after she got her shots. She is talking and smiling so much and has rolled over from stomach to back about 5 times.
We are coming home on February 16th to February 19th. We get in at 9pm on Friday and leave at 2 in the afternoon on Monday. We have friends getting married on the 17th so we want to be there for that and it's my birthday weekend which is a boost. We were going to drive, but it really isn't worth driving through the night on Friday in the middle of Winter to save 45-55 dollars. So we are going to fly out of Boise. Which makes me happy!
Treven is already looking at medical schools just to get everything figured out. He is looking at University of Washington and University of Utah as his top two. Our friends let us a book with all the Medical schools in the US and the requirements and all this information. It is really nice! For those who don't know, Treven wants to go to med school for either Psychiatry or Neurosurgery. It's a passion for him!
Well I love you all, Melia is so tired but won't go to sleep so I have to go help her! Congrats to Sean and Bridget! In one of the pics of Mary, she looks like Melia!

Kimberly

We are leaving in 5 minutes for our audition in Beverly Hills for the World Series of Pop Culture!!! We are nervous, excited...ready. I will let you all know how it goes later tonight. GO 3M CHANKLAS!!! WOOHOO!!

--
marnie

Hey,

Brooke I was just letting you know that you have a whole month before wishing Peter Happy Birthday...His birthday isn't until FEB 28th. You crack me up.

Anyways, all is well here. Just school, work, and volleyball. I am finally getting another coach to help out with my team. I have been having emails and calls from parents because their girls aren't playing enough or they aren't being pushed. I had a rough couple of days but everything is better and it will be nice to have another pair of eyes at practice.

School is good 2 weeks down, 30 to go until I am finshed. By that I mean this semester (14 more weeks) and fall semester (16 weeks). I did find out the other day that I do have another class I have to still take but it is an online class that I can take in the summer.

Peter is enjoying work. He had lunch yesterday by himself with the owner of the company...the owner has been trying to schedule this for a while I guess. They love Peter there and are looking at him, once he gets is professional engineers license, to open an office over in Oregon, I think near Salem. We will se how things turn out...that wouldn't happen for another 3 years or so.

We are heading up to McCall this weekend to go to the Winter Carnival with our friends Justin and Laura. We haven't been up there with them in a while and since Laura's mom has a cabin on the lake there, we have a great place to stay while we are there.

Andrew is growing by the day and I can't believe he will be 6 months on Tuesday. He is so much fun to be around...when he isn't fussing....which makes it hard to leave him at Day care all day while I head off to school, but I know it is the best thing as I need to finish asap so once I am done I can spend all of my time with him.

We love you all and miss you tons.

Love,
Anne

Hi family. I hope you are all doing well. We are- just busy. Barb, I didn't realize we could still make a choice about the picture. Mike told Kenn to just pick one, if you didn't get that message. I didn't see that blog until after that Sunday because of our computer being down, also, I didn't know where to look for the picture choices anyway. If you still haven't chosen one I would prefer one that is cute of everyone-duh- even if it means that Ellyn isn't looking right at the camera, because that's just Ellyn and I don't want it less cute of the girls for eye contact- does that make sense at all?

Peter and Parker happy belated birthday. I can't believe it's already Parker's b-day again. Time flies!

Things are going well here. We got 10 inches of snow the night before last and the funny thing is that school was only delayed by 2 hours. Quite a difference from Washington. We have a great sledding hill across the street behind the playground and we had alot of fun out there yesterday afternoon. The snow is beautiful and it is a bright sunny day and I love it.

Let's see, what else? We travelled to the Nurnburg ward on Sunday and had a really wonderful time in the German ward. They bent over backwards to accomodate our English speaking family in primary and in Sacrament. I'm glad we had such a good experience because with my calling I have to go to every ward Mike goes to and Jane was not really thrilled about that.

The girls are doing well. Ellyn has been having some sleep issues again and that has been tiring and frustrating. Mike and I are actually putting in a request to move to different housing. With our house right by the main road and the walking trail right beside all of our bedroom windows (being on a corner) we think the noises are waking her up and then she can't get herself back to sleep-that is without crying for about 40 minutes- which wakes up the whole family. Also, she has learned how to open the front door and with the main road right there it makes us very nervous (not so much for right now, but summer when the kids are in and out). There is a house plan in some nearby housing that is on a quiet road, with a finished basement where I could take Ellyn in the middle of the night (have our family room down there) so that she doesn't wake up the whole family. I have to go see her Dr about it today and see if he will authorize it. Her therapist is willing to put in a statement because she knows we've tried everything we can. Jane isn't too thrilled because she really likes the friends that she walks home with but we do things with one of the families on a regular basis, the other friend I don't really want her hanging out with anyway and next year she wouldn't be walking home with them anyway. Plus one of her friends lives on the street where the house is located and I think most of it is that she just doesn't want the chaos of moving again. I think she will be fine and I think she will like the other house better anyway. Wish me luck (although by the time you read this I will have my answer-most likely).

I hope you are all doing well. Marnie, good luck. Keep us posted. I have to go clean my kitchen and oh, the rest of the whole house. We love you all.
Love, Brooke

Check out the Schickedanz blog for the stats on their new arrivals....Congratulations, Sean and Bridget!

Also, Tom and Tracey posted pictures from Disneyworld on their website (Ohio Stinchfield's) They are well worth seeing! It looks like you had a great time.

I told several of you my sad story of my UGG boots encounter with a dog at a quilting meeting last night. The dog bit through to top of the boot--the top of the foot portion. Dad suggested I take it back to Nordstrom and see if I could get a new pair. I did and they will be shipping a new pair to my home. Now I believe all the stories...I told them what exactly happened and they still are giving me a new pair.

I also washed my clip IPOD yesterday....it was a bad day for me. But I am going to call American Express and invoke their "buyer protection plan" that supposedly will give your money back or replace anything you buy regardless of the reason for your need. Anyhow, I will let you know how it works!

Love you all,
Mom

You know, after having our family birthday party on Sunday, I totally spaced out that yesterday was his birthday. I hope he had a great REAL birthday!

Safeway is nice, isn't it!!!

Love,

Grandma Barb

Just wanted to wish Parker a happy birthday! Hope he is having a good one.

Thanks Mom for the good luck wishes. I am cramming like crazy, there is a lot to know! I should get back to it now. Love you all!


-marnie

Well, now the days at the coast in August are out. When we received the paperwork, it stated emphatically that no more than 10 people could be in the house AT ANY TIME. That counts children! We have 17 counting all the kids that were planning on coming. So even getting another house or motel rooms wouldn't work. Apparently, it is a Lincoln City ordinance to eliminate big drunken brawls but is enforced on anyone. So we were back to square one...the initial house is way too big....and expensive. It accomodates 26 or 27 people....and there are no houses in between available on the coast.

So....we would suggest that for the Oregon coast part in July or August we just do a weekend and stay at the Pelican Shores together. They have rooms with kitchenettes and they are right on the beach...and it has an enclosed pool also. We'd stay for a Friday and Saturday night...coming back on Sunday afternoon. I need to get from those who would be trying to do this...which weekend would be the best...July 20-22, July 27-29 or August 3-5 so we can make reservations.

Dad and I are also planning on going to Gualala over Memorial Day weekend. Megan Bodily put aside several sites for us since, in our enthusiasm last August, we said we...and some of our family...may want to come. No one needs to feel obligated in any way but we do need to know if anyone would like to come. I think we all have good memories of our Fremont campouts!. Dad and I will be driving down on Thursday to Friday...stopping on the way...staying at Gualala on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then starting back on Monday...again stopping on the way back up to Washington. If anyone wanted to fly into Sacramento, we could pick you up on the way down and drop you off on the way back....just a thought. Do let us know if you want to do it so we can adjust the number of sites.

We love you all.....Good luck to Marnie on her tryout this weekend!

(Mike and Brooke...I am still waiting for your choice of pictures!)

Mom

I spoke to Dad and we decided to go ahead and reserve the house for the 4th through the 8th. Who can come can come....Please let us know. We'll have two units within the house. I think there are a total of five queen beds within the house. It has at least two decks....here is the link to the website http://www.a1beachrentals.com/site/Overview/PropertyID__18437/sd1__08-04-2007/sd2__08-08-2007/3545/default.aspx.

Anyhow, let us know how many can actually commit to coming. We'll keep it no matter how many come. We may have a little sharing of costs as people can...thinking about $100 per person...not counting babies. I don't want that to cause anyone not to come, however.

Love,
Mom

I have talked to several of you but we have cancelled the big house on the Oregon coast that we originally reserved. It is too big for those of us who can come. I am trying to find another house on the beach for us. I have found one that is available from August 4 to August 8. That is a Saturday through a Wednesday. It looks very nice and is half the cost of the big house for the week.

I'm not sure that will be available by the time people get back to me...but for my search...how many of you could come....

July 19-23
July 26-29
August 4-8

Let me know ASAP!

Love,

Mom

I don't know if I have ever related to all of you the amazing difficulty there is in getting anyone to get my name right. Any take out, just about every time it is Marty or Barney or some other variation.Well, we got a picture of it for proof!



Feel my pain siblings with your common names...feel my pain.

Mali (Harrison) Gardner called today to tell me that Chris's brother, David Gardner, was injured in Iraq. He is in the army and was run over by a bobcat (tractor) accidentally. In surgery his fever spiked and necessitated amputation of his foot. He has now been transferred to the hospital in Germany. She called to see if it was close to Mike as she wanted to arrange to have someone give him a blessing. It is not but I did e-mail Mike to see if he could get any contacts for her there. In the meantime, I suggested that she call SL church headquarters and talk to the military affairs people to see if they could give her a contact there.

Anyhow, I'm sure he could use all of our prayers. He is married...his wife is pregnant..I think Mali said she is due in four weeks. They are out of Ft Bragg.

Love to all,

Mom

Well I certainly don't envy all you who are dealing with the snow and cold. I am whiny enough for how cold it has been down here in the last week. Now I know that it is not as cold as it is in Idaho or Washington but it is unusually cold for San Diego and we are just not made for that. Nothing down here is. Our houses are not as insulated, our clothes are warm enough...it has been 30 degrees outside for the past few days when I have left my house in the morning. Crazy! I did discover though that my car has a 'ding' when the outside temperature goes below 36-37 degrees...took me a while to realize what the noise meant!

I went to the Justin Timberlake concert last night, thus the title. I am completely exhausted right now and I can't wait for the next 40 minutes so pass so I can drive home and go to sleep. The concert was fun although he did a weird thing with the jumbo screen so you could barely see him most of the time. But his songs were good. I really like FutureSexLoveSounds, SexyBack, and Cry Me a River (my fav). We got there sorta late so only saw the end of Pink performing Get this Party Started but it was really cool. She was spinning around on a ribbon while singing like Cirque De' Soleil. Very impressive. We got to be in a private suite which makes for a very different concert going experience. Most of the people there were in their mid to late 30s but very nice. Definitely quieter than it would have been had we been sitting with all the fangirls.

I stayed in LA last night (which meant a late late night) so that I could attend a meeting for the Yahoo search marketing that my company uses that I am in charge of. I was totally exhausted and the meeting was pretty disorganized but I still got some stuff out of it. And I got some free SWAG which is always fun. :)

So after I recuperate from my last couple days I will be getting super serious about studying for next Friday's audition for the VH1 WSOPC. While we were in LA yesterday we got our costumes together. We are gonna look pretty cool. I will be sure to post a picture when everything is ready.

Anyway, I wanted to post a little update on what is going on down here. Oh yeah and I saw a 'celebrity' yesterday - anyone remember Jonathan Silverman? the brown haired guy from Weekend at Bernie's? We saw him when we were going to dinner at the famous Pink's Hot Dogs on LaBrea and Melrose. We also went to the new super trendy place in LA called Pinkberry...frozen yogurt with fresh fruit...groudbreaking, I know.

--
marnie

Another snow day - the novelty of the kids being home from school and having snow on the ground is wearing off. Especially after a three-day weekend and two snow days last week. The kids are thoroughly enjoying the snow (and the time off from school)- but I am getting nothing done.
Oh well - it is good family time. We spent the day yesterday at OMSI and saw Happy Feet on the OmniMax while we were there. We also saw Night at the Museum this weekend with Buffy - I really like that movie. Today I think we will conquer haircuts and other errands, if the snow lets up.

Anyway - we are working on our calendar this year - scheduling vacations and conferences - and we have spoken with Paige & Brian - who would love to join the Disneyland trip. We are thinking October. I told her I would get back to her, since they are likely planning out their year, too.

Mike - we found Lost Cities and also picked up Tally Ho - it is made by the same company and is another fun 2-person game. Thanks for the recommendations.

I'm off - the kids want to go out and play, so I need to get in the shower before half the neighborhood is over here, tracking snow through the house and leaving my front door wide open.

Adina

For anyone that will be in the San Diego/LA area or would come down for it - the registration for this year's Disneyland 5K and Half Marathon is open! The 5K will be on Sunday Sept. 2nd and the Half Marathon is on Monday Sept. 3rd.

This year capacity is only 4,000 people so if you want to enter make sure to do it soon!!! The registration fee is $30 for the 5K and I am not sure for the Half Marathon.
Register here!

(I am doing the 5K!!)

--
marnie

I need all of your preferences for pictures...

I have D & A's, T & K's, Marnie's-----I need M & B's, P & A's and T & T's. ( We can just get B & B to do it here tonight) Please send me the picture # that you want.

Thanks,

Mom

Well everyone, since you haven't figured it out, we stole Bully and took him home with us. Andrew liked him so much that we took him. Anyways, this is a picture of a famous Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan who also has the same thing as Andrew. You can see it really well in this picture. I found out from the lady that is going to babysit Andrew that there was a famous bollywood actor that had three thumbs too so I decided to look it up.

By the way Mike, We went out and bought Power Grid and the German Ticket to Ride today. Peter thought you would be excited.

Love you all,
Anne

Well, I have been a bit remiss on adding anything. Since everyone left I have been trying to put my hours in on my new job and getting the house back in order. It was so great having everyone here..the game nights, the good food...and just the love of everyone, but life does return to normal. My job is going well. I think I am catching on to what I am supposed to do. A lot of it is just reasoning and word processing skills. Grandma is getting more and more out of touch with reality. She asked Dad the other day where his mother, Barbie, was...and asked me whether I had see her mother today. We did find out that she had a UTI which can cause a lot more confusion so she is now on an antibiotic. She seemed a little better today although she called one of the other women, Barbie. I'm hoping it improves because if it doesn't we will have to pay for someone else to work there so someone can be with her all the time.

We have several things I have found as I have cleaned up. Please claim what is yours so I can send it out to you. Also, if you have noticed anything else missing let me know. I'll look around. Some I have already identified and talked to you about so I'm not going to put them on this listing...

1. A sponge bob with rabbit ears
2. An I-tunes video card (it may have already been used...or may be Brent's...I forgot to ask him and he is asleep right now!!)
3. A book- The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly
4. A puka shell necklace with shells (been here quite some time..Jane's??)
5. Child's white socks
6. Adult white socks--look like women's socks
7. Argyle socks- grey and black with small red threading
8. 2 different Snow White underwear---what is it about snow white???

Dad is working a lot since he has started at Dr Wong's this last Monday. That is going well so far. We're putting off really thinking about any decision until at least April or May. Speaking of April, when Pres Bush gave his speech last night, they talked about orders been issued for units to go to Iraq now...Mike, have you heard anything?

We are giving a party on Saturday for the Loomis's (friends from our ward) that are moving to Utah this month. We are going to play "It's about Time" and the "Amazing Race Game", I think. I also have found about 4 sets of Phase Ten cards so we may have several groups play that. There will be about 20 people. Mike, can you play teams for "It's about Time" and not have to split the group into several games. At the New Years Eve festivities you split them up but I didn't know why.

The title refers to our weather. It snowed yesterday...less than an inch on the lawn but the roads were wet and it is now about 18 degrees so everything is frozen. I'm going to call Curves now and see if they are open. The schools are closed so I'm not too sure and I don't want to drive on the icy roads only to find that Curves is closed. Dad and I think we'll join the gym where we had our pictures taken. We just finished a free trial and we're now at the decision point. It helps both of us as it gives me more intense aerobic exercise than I get at Curves although I will continue to do both.

Speaking of pictures, I need to have your preferences for the pictures by Sunday as I need to let Alex know which ones we want to be put in High resolution and cropped etc. If you don't let us know, we will just pick one that we like. We'll provide one picture for each of you and will give you the electronic file of any that you would like. Also, I will be e-mailing each of you for some geneology info that I need....some of the spouses info as well as endowment and baptism dates.

Love you all!

Mom

We are currently offline. I am posting from work. Since our phone is internet based, this is why you cannot get a hold of us. I will try to get it figured out. In the meantime, you can e-mail me at mike.stinchfield@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Mike

I just found that if you try to post a comment from another blogger account (like I tried to post from my google/blogger account) it asks for approval from the administrator. I logged in to approve my own comments and found a ton of old comments that have never been posted!

I guess I will have to check that more frequently. In case you want to post a comment and it does that - you can sign in as the main user (stinch******) and go to post then on the upper left tab for posting there should be a "moderate comments" section - just approve the comments there.

Just FYI.

-marnie

After all of the fun over the holidays, I guess it was time for a lazy weekend. I had not intended to lay around most of Saturday and Sunday... I had big plans to go with Brent to downtown Portland and go to movies and have a great time during his weekend off.
But of course a cold hit the Stinchfield house and it took me down good. On Saturday morning the only thing that mattered to me was finding some non-psuedafedrine drug to stop the horrible sinus pressure from making me go crazy. (I am one of the lucky few who cannot tolerate the red pill because my heart goes a little bizerk)
So instead of painting the town red, Brent and I cozied up on that big couch chair and watched way too much football. I'm sure Brent was secretly happy that I didn't feel up to going out because this is his idea of the perfect day. And of course I didn't care what was on TV as long as I could doze in and out of sleep. I do have to say though that Brent definitely proved himself an excellent caretaker with running out to the store for cold remedies and such without being asked. I feel very blessed to call him my husband.
Other than that excitement there has been nothing new. Of course Brent and I are still making trips over to the house every other night and obsessing over what we need to purchase for livability... window coverings for the bedroom, bathroom, shelving, etc.
Our jobs are going well. I am trying to finish my Washington state license papers so I can work my 5th day on our side of the river for extra money... of course for house stuff!
Well, that's my blogg-saving contribution. Take care all,
Buffy

Yes, at 3 am...

"Are you talking about the brown guy or the peach guy?"

"He just hugged that man because he really likes him" (After UF TD)

"Ahhh, look at that, he put the ball down on the ground for his friend to have"

"These are the husbands playing"

maybe more to follow...

Mike

Melia had her 2 month check up today and she was measured at 24 1/4 inches long and weighed at 12 lbs 14 oz. So she is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th for height. Everything is going great with her and she is growing everyday. She also got her shots today so I just gave her some tylenol and now she is out!

Our classes are going well and we are definitely busy with work and school and Melia. But that is how it is so we just have to deal with it! I am starting work a week from today. They got me a two day a week shift on Monday and Friday from 4pm-10pm and if I wanted that shift I have to start 2 weeks early, but it is worth it.

The couches are wonderful and they actually fit in our living room! I love them! We will have to post some pictures. Treven and I are also thinking of coming down to San Diego this Summer after we get out of school at the beginning of July!

Well thats all going on with us... just getting used to it being the winter!

Kimberly

I am finally recovering from my post-holiday funk...I am rising before 10 and making lists again. The holidays were amazing - thanks to all those who made the effort to be here - we know traveling is not always easy - destroyed or missing luggage, the flu, ornery and tired kids, various belongings left behind, early flights - it made our small commute to Salmon Creek seem like a breeze. So - thanks. (Mike - you left your hat and gloves behind - we will get those to you.)

Kids are back at school, Dave is back at work - now as the official owner and head honcho. Morgan went in for a cleaning this morning - she has got to be the only five year-old that yells "Yahoo!" when told she is going to get her teeth cleaned. She loves the hygienist and she is cavity-free. About a week ago, Dave had to go in on a Sunday for an emergency patient. It was a crown prep so he asked me to assist - I think he thinks I know more about dentistry than I really do. It went well, though I could see him stifling laughter under his mask. This poor woman - though she was amply warned that I was not the regular assistant and was a very good sport, she was a pawn in Dave's little game. We are both determined to get me trained so that I can really assist at the practice in the future.

My spare time is spent preparing for the course I am teaching next month - and I was recently asked to organize a health/nutrition/fitness group for Enrichment. So - right back into the grind.

T 'n T - Dave & I were discussing our own Disneyland trip soon - since you and Marnie are (or will be) locals, it would be fun to all go together.
Kim & Treven - glad the furniture got there - and thank YOU for getting it out of our garage!

Time to start the day.

Adina

Okay Marnie, I'll help you out by posting this story about Hayden. When we lost our luggage on Monday Hayden came up to me and said "Now we are like the family who lost everything." I was confused and asked what family he was talking about. He said "The family on Arrested Development!" We've been dying laughing about it all week! For those that don't remember that is what is said in the opening credits, something like "The family who lost everything and the one son who kept them together..." Funny kid.

We switched to morning church today and it was nice to be done so early. Hayden went to his CTR class and got a CTR ring and loves it! We've been making a lot of changes with him now that he is a "big kid." Simple things really but it's been nice, for instance, he now has to eat the peel on his apples, he has to sit at the table and feed himself his entire meal and other basic acts of independence. He is also doing really well at remember to say the "th" sound on his words like "thanks vs. sanks" and "three vs. free" and "something vs. somefing". He's really growing up!! His 4 year old check up his tomorrow.

Danica is getting so close to walking! I know we keep saying that but now we really mean it. She takes up to 6 or 7 steps at a time and will simply let go of one piece of furniture and walk to another without any coaxing. It's just a matter now of figuring out how to not fall down! She is also growing up and no longer gets a bottle, her binky is confined to the bed and she is up to 18 lbs. Hopefully we can pack on a few more so she can get that better carseat!!

The house it almost back in order and kids are close to their normal schedule only sleeping in until 8 or 9. We leave for Disneyworld a week from tomorrow. Now that we know we are moving so close to Disneyland and we got to do some fun traveling for the holidays we thought about cancelling the trip and saving the money but it just sounds too fun to give up. The airfare was free but everything else is pricey! We have a few more days to decide but I think we are going to go.

Well that's my two cents for today. I dont' know if you'll read this, but Sean and Bridgette we think of you constantly and hope things go well with the little ladies! We wait anxiously for the good news!

Take care!

Tracey

I was just playing with our new work camera that we got today with our new copy machine! :)

Well everyone,

We have returned to our humble and small abode. I am so glad to be home even though I wish I could live there so I could have family wecould see every so often. I have been watching the America's Next Top Model marathon since I've been home. They are going thru all of the seasons this week. I have been taking care of lots of stuff at home and still have to get lots done before school starts in 2 1/2 weeks.

Volleyball started back up yesterday and we are going strong now until the beginning of May. Our first tourney is Jan 19-20th so I am getting the girls ready to play against other teams. Our biggest hurdle is rotations and where to be when the ball is being served at them. Anyways, it is lots of fun but hard work.

Andrew continues to grow but not much since you saw him last. He has his 6 month appointment at the end of the month and I don't know where the time has gone. It is weird to think we have had him in our live for almost half a year. I know it is not much time to some of you with older kids but it is alot for us.

Peter and I are doing well and are having fun. Friday, Peter is going night skiing with a friend of his for his friend's birthday then we are going out to dinner on saturday night with them. We will finally break down and get a babysitter other that the ones for school. It will be weird.

All is well and love you all!

-Anne

We had a fantastic time on our visit out to Washington but it is nice to be home and getting settled back in! The kids are still on Washington time and have slept until 10:00am every day this week, it's awesome! (Although that means I sleep in also so we are getting nothing done everyday!) Our flight back was okay but we barely made the connection in Vegas and our luggage didn't so we didn't get that until Monday night. Luckily that happened coming home and not going there! I was trying to help Hayden not be so sad about leaving Washington so I reminded him of his friends here who have missed him. He got the idea that they would be waiting for him at the house! It was pretty funny and luckily we got home so late I convinced him they had to be home with the their parents. Danica still shows very little interest in walking but we are diligently trying to bribe her into it. I think Tom just wants to prove she can and I want her to quit put her hands all over the dirty floor and wearing out the knees of her pants and the toes of her shoes!

We leave for DisneyWorld in a week and half, on the 15th, so I am busy making the last minute arrangements for that. I am hoping we can get by without a car since there is a free shuttle from our hotel. My main concern is food, I don't want to eat out every meal for a week but we can't go to the grocery store without a car so I just may pack an entire suitcase full of stuff like break, PB & J, chips, applesauce, pop tarts, oatmeal, etc. But I guess we'll see... some you Disney veterans, what have you done to keep cost down and fast food to a minimum?

Hayden decided to take the rest of the money he got from Papa and use it to buy the Lego Boba Fett's ship. He is so thrilled and watched Tom for hours as he put it together. He was flying it around the house showing me all the things it can do. Thank you Papa! I had to take a moment to remind both Tom and Hayden that it is made of legos and they need to be prepared for it to break sometime and not to panic!! Hopefully it will be okay! Adina, we got Danica a Fisher-Price piggy bank to replace the school bus. It plays music as you stick the plastic coins in she loves it. Thanks!

Okay, I"m off to bed but just felt the need to help in the blogg revival. Lexi called today and said she'd been tempted to blogg something for us while we are there just to keep the blogg alive! Sorry everyone else!

We are doing well here in Rexburg. We are glad to be home and relaxing before school starts, which is tomorrow. Our classes seem like they are going to be great classes, but we are going to have to put a lot of work into our anatomy and phys class. Melia is growing faster and faster by the day and she has her 2 month appointment on Monday so we will see really how much she has grown.

We called the subsidized apartments yesterday to see where we were on the waiting list and we are #8 which is great! We were #22 at the beginning of December so they is a huge chance of us being able to move in in the next 2 months.

We got the couches last night from Dave and Adina and again, thank you so much for saving them for us. They are great, we just have to figure out what to do because we still have our other couch. So we have 3 couches right now and our living room isn't big. (the subsidized apartments have bigger living rooms).

This blog is a little boring, but that is what is happening in our world. Love you all!

Kimberly

We had some great times together with little need to blog about anything but as we move back into routine I think we need to get back to the regular style blogging.

Happy New Year everyone! The year is starting well in San Diego. I am back to work and busy busy busy. We have already (well, my boss has already) sold about what we sell in a month in one day! So looks like the year is starting out right! :)

I am trying to fall back into my routine which is much nicer for me. Everybody needs a little vacation but too much is, well, too much. My old roommate, Sandy, is visiting this week. She is staying at her aunt's house in North Park so I got to spend some time with her this last weekend and will again this Friday probably. She is moving back to San Diego in May so she is on the job hunt right now and trying to relax after the football season (she is an athletic trainer for Texas Tech). So she is busy but it is nice to have her visit.

I have the Justin Timberlake concert in LA in a couple weeks which should be really fun. And I really need to start cracking down and seriously studying for the VH1 WSOPC. I only have 3 weeks! I am trying to be pretty persistent with Matthew and Michelle about studying since it depends on them too. :)

Anyway, it really is busy so I need to finish eating lunch so I can get back to work. Love you all!

--
marnie

Melia is actually looking at the camera so that is a big reason we picked it.